Accepted Report: 76561198066463849 - ([TF2] Team Fortress 2 Items)

@Salmon Scamming a scammer is still scamming. It does not matter whether or not the accused in this case is guilty, whether the report has enough evidence, whether they are/will be tagged, or what the admin decides on the report, the answer for you will be the same. Per the screenshots provided, and your own admission, you blatantly scammed the item off the accused in this report - you had an agreement to pay LeFr33 $112 for that taunt by PayPal. If you don't intend on paying him, you must return the item. I hate to bear bad news, and I don't want to have to do this, but you will be marked as a scammer if you don't return that item to the person you received it from. Part of being impartial and fair means we don't play favorites; one of our own admins would get banned if they pulled something like this.

I realize this is a difficult concept to grasp, because you feel you are doing the right thing. I understand you wish to return the item to the victim in this report, and your intention is to help a victim recover what they lost and/or repay a scammer, but we do not condone scamming to repay victims. Were we to allow it, we'd be creating a slippery slope and effectively creating a list of who it is or is not ok to steal from. Our purpose here is to prevent fraud, and even someone who has themself committed fraud in the past receives that same protection. People before you have gone out playing Robin Hood, scamming items back from scammers, and they have been tagged for it. SteamRep drew that line years ago, and we do not condone vigilante theft or fraud. As active and informed as you are around these forums, I am honestly surprised you haven't seen the occasional discussion thread that pops up asking about it. I am carefully reviewing the evidence in this report to see if there is enough salvageable to tag the accused, but I know you have spoken with SilentReaper about this case, and he told you the same thing: scamming a scammer is still scamming. I have been assigned to work this case, and this is your official word from a SteamRep admin. Please act accordingly.

I am really sorry to do this, but I have given you a CAUTION. Because you repaid, because your intentions are clearly not malicious, and because you do not pose a clear threat to the community, you will not receive a full BANNEd tag, but what you did was a blatant PayPal scam. You are free to appeal this tag.

Having carefully weighed both sides in this report, I am concluding that the reporter is telling the truth and the accused is lying. As such, I am accepting this report. Thank you for your report.